JAKARTA The discourse of a full one-month school holiday during Ramadan has become a hot topic of conversation, especially among education activists and parents. Some welcomed the holiday plan during Ramadan, but others were worried that taking too long would have a negative impact on students.
It was the Minister of Religion (Menag) Nasaruddin Umar who first expressed the discourse of a full school holiday during Ramadan. When this discourse was sparked, the public's response, especially from the elderly, varied.
School holidays during Ramadan are expected to provide free time for children to explore new activities. In addition, both students and teachers can also focus more on carrying out worship during Ramadan.
But on the other hand, long holidays raise concerns among parents and education activists. Long holidays are said to have the potential to interfere with the intensity of children's learning.
Khawairnya anak jadi lazih belajar. Lalu, sering nge-game, jadi kelupas waktu. Kalau anak-anak untuk mengatur waktu masih bergantung kepada orang tuanya. Jadi terlihat dapat beban lebih extra untuk mengindiplinkan waktu anak antara membindatikan waktu ibadah, bermain, dan belajar, kata salah satu wali pejar.
Previously, a full month of school holidays during Ramadan had been carried out in the era of President Abdurrahman Wahid. Citing the Presidential.id museum page, this policy was issued by the Fourth President of Indonesia in Ramadan 1999.
In addition to eliminating schools for a full month, Gus Dur also appealed to schools to create flash pesantren activities. The goal is that students can focus more on learning Islam. At this moment, the schools also ask their students to report worship activities during Ramadan, such as tadarus to tarawih.
Member of the House of Representatives Hilmy Muhammad or who is familiarly called Gus Hilmy responded well to the discourse on school holidays during Ramadan. He considered that the holiday during Ramdan was a spiritual development and character for children.
"In a year, in 12 months, let's give a full month to better thicken the child's spirituality and character," he said.
Gus Hilmy said the discourse of school holidays during Ramadan was not a problem for the pesantren. As for private and public schools, he suggested that they could create a school program for Islamic boarding schools that had been carried out in the Gus Dur era.
"In principle, diverting learning, which was originally taught by subjects, at Ramadan, a pesantren school was held. During Gus Dur's time, it was like that. In addition, students were given the daily small notes task that were handed over to teachers the next day. This is the basis for teacher monitoring or the basis for giving value, "explained the senator from Yogyakarta.
Regarding the discourse of holidays during Ramadan this year, the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) Abdul Mu'ti said the government would discuss three options related to holidays during Ramadan.
Abdul Mu'ti said the option would be discussed further in a cross-ministerial meeting, namely the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri).
The first option is full holidays during Ramadan with religious activities. Second, partial holidays, for example, take a few days off at the beginning of Ramadan and re-enter until before Eid al-Fitr. Third, schools still enter fully as usual.
Although there is no certainty about the pattern of teaching and learning activities during Ramadan later, a number of people are worried about the discourse of one month off that the Minister of Religion had put forward.
Satriwan Salim as the National Coordinator of the Education and Teacher Association (P2G) revealed that there are five factors that according to Satriwan must be considered and considered by the government in determining this policy.
First, because the principle of learning services applies to all students, if the Ramadan holiday applies nationally, it will also have an impact on non-Muslim students. So according to Satriwan, the government needs to conduct a holistic assessment.
If this holiday only accommodates Muslim students, how about non-Muslim students? If they take a day off, they don't get a learning service. If they stay in school, this also discriminates against Muslim student learning services on holiday," said Satriwan Salim to VOI.
Second, there are concerns among school teachers or private madrasas regarding salaries that are threatened with a significant reduction if students take a full month off. This is because parents object to paying tuition fees because there are no teaching and learning activities during school holidays.
"Student teachers in the regions are worried that if they have full holidays during fasting, later the foundation will cut their salaries significantly because several madrasasurus are paid based on a matter of teaching hours. Even though the need for spending during the fasting month plus family Eid al-Fitr increases," he continued.
The data shows that 95 percent of madrasas are private, and some private madrasas are managed with human resources and minimal budget. The teacher's salary is also below Rp. 1 million per month. The government must think about the fate and welfare of small private teachers, if schools are on holiday for a full month.
Third, so far every Ramadan teaching and learning activities in schools have been modified. Starting from reducing study hours, changing the hours of entering and returning from school, or active learning for only two weeks in the middle of Ramadan.
"The rest of schools hold Ramadan Islamic Boarding School programs. So there are many options," continued Satriwan.
That way, students continue to learn to complete the curriculum, but also do not abandon Ramadan's spiritual activities. If students take a break during fasting, according to Satriwan, it will have a negative impact on their learning achievements because the curriculum and learning material will be left behind a lot.
Fourth, weak monitoring and supervision of students by teachers and parents if schools are off during Ramadan. Parents should have complete control in supervising children's learning during holidays.
But in reality, many parents work and have other activities so they cannot supervise and guide their children during holidays.
Finally, most importantly, Satriwan encouraged the government to consider the negative impact of prolonged holidays, such as leading losses and increasing the potential for student addiction on devices.
"Don't let the holidays during Ramadan become a place for children to surf online for a long time, access negative content of violence, online games, and even pornography," said Satriwan worriedly.
Not only that, the juvenile delinquency trend also has the potential to increase during holidays during Ramadan, because many cases of brawls and other violence occur during the holiday season.
Third, the cycle of violence perpetrated by teenagers during the holiday season. This will find its momentum during the Ramadan holiday, because there are many cases of brawls and other violence that occur after dawn or before breaking the fast.
Moreover, Ramadan is a teenager who has the opportunity to go out at night longer. Even until dawn. This requires strict supervision and regulation. In some parts of Indonesia, Sahur on The Road activities have been banned, because they often cause fights and other crimes," he concluded.
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